Predictors of psychological sequelae of torture among South African former political prisoners.

The present study investigated potential predictors of the psychological sequelae of torture among 143 former political activists who had been detained during the apartheid era in South Africa. Using multiple regression analyses, the authors found that the number of times detained for political reasons, negative social support, strong religiousness, female gender, and number of days detained significantly predicted psychological distress and symptoms of traumatization as measured by the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (adjusted R(2) = .183) and the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 (adjusted R(2) = .152). The number of times detained for political reasons, negative social support, strong religiousness, and female gender emerged as salient risk factors for psychological distress, whereas duration of imprisonment appeared to protect against posttraumatic symptoms. This article discusses these results in terms of the current research on factors associated with traumatization.